


Sacrifice

by Qingheniejie



Category: Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Getting Together, M/M, Self-Esteem Issues, Short Hair AU, pinning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:55:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23966503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qingheniejie/pseuds/Qingheniejie
Summary: Shang Qinghua was not used to this.No, scratch that. His king looking at him all the time was common, even if he never understood what exactly was so fascinating about him doing paperwork.But this was not that.There was a… softness? To his king's gaze?His eyesight might be going from so much work, he had been told to always have proper lighting and take breaks or his eyes would go bad but he didn't think they would get ruined so soon! He was still young! Well, young-ish; He had lived two lives after all; so it was 20 years as an author and then-That wasn't the point!His King! Was! Weird!And so! Like the brilliant man and venerated author he is, he decided to get to the bottom of this mystery in the most straightforward way!-----Or the mindless Shang Qinghua short hair AU that no one asked for and suddenly developed way more plot than originally intended.
Relationships: Mòběi-jūn/Shàng Qīnghuá
Comments: 68
Kudos: 995





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> SO! This was supposed to be a self indulgent drabble for our MoShang Discord server and it ended up turning into 1) An entry for the MoShang relay and 2) My first chaptered fic. This WAS supposed to be a one shot but the more I wrote the longer It turned out being.
> 
> Shout out to [ Shakja ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shakja%22%3E) for being and amazing beta and encouraging me to finish at least this much for the relay lol!
> 
> Link to the MoShang Twitter Relay: https://twitter.com/wanyinlan/status/1254268693778886657?s=20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! This was supposed to be a self indulgent drabble for our MoShang Discord server and it ended up turning into 1) An entry for the MoShang relay and 2) My first chaptered fic. This WAS supposed to be a one shot but the more I wrote the longer It turned out being.
> 
> Shout out to [ Shakja ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shakja%22%3E) for being and amazing beta and encouraging me to finish at least this much for the relay lol!
> 
> Link to the [ MoShang Twitter Relay ](https://twitter.com/wanyinlan/status/1254268693778886657?s=20)
> 
> 05/16 Edit: Minor typo fixes!

Shang Qinghua was not used to this.

No, scratch that. his king looking at him all the time was common, even if he never understood what exactly was so fascinating about him doing paperwork.

But  _ this _ was not  _ that. _

There was a… softness? To his king's gaze? 

His eyesight might be going from so much work, he had been told to always have proper lighting and take breaks or his eyes would go bad but he didn't think they would get ruined so soon! He was still young! Well, young-ish; He had lived two lives after all; so it was 20 years as an author and then-

That wasn't the point!

His King! Was! Weird!

And so! Like the brilliant man and venerated author he is, he decided to get to the bottom of this mystery in the most straightforward way!

\----

"I'm telling you Cucumber-bro! This is NOT his normal type of staring at me!" He absolutely did  _ not _ whine at the elegant cultivator sipping tea at the other end of the small table.

"Huh" Said Shen Qingqiu, with a slight glance up "and this new staring has nothing to do with what's going on up there right?"

Shang Qinghua stared back blankly.

"I mean, it's a pretty drastic change, wouldn't you say? how did that happen again?"

"Well..." he started as he ran his fingers through his now short locks. "That's actually the other thing I wanted to talk about, or rather, warn you about"

"Warn me?"

"Yeah, I thought that after Luo Binghe defeated his dad, and avoided the merging of the worlds, that the story would be over but it seems like the system is evolving and now started digging into my unpublished drafts and… actually  _ adapting _ them!"

Shen Qingqiu looked at him with a furrowed brow, so Shang Qinghua continued.

"You see… back when I was writing I had a- folder with drafts that I had honestly forgotten existed" he began as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought. He moved his head as if searching inside his own mind for the right memory.

"Amongst those drafts there was one where a group of wizards felt threatened by Bingge's power and so they wanted to lure him into a trap. Since they were aware of his lecherous ways, they sent the only witch in the coven to invite Bingge back to their territory in a 'show of good faith'"

Shen Qingqiu raised an eyebrow at the blatantly obvious set up. Shang Qinghua waved his hand in dismissal and proceeded.

"She brought Bingge back and he got trapped within a portal that was going to send him to a different dimension-"

"What? Like Xin Mo?"

"No- well- not exactly? Xin Mo is controlled by Bingge so the range of dimensions it can acces are limited by, well, Bingge himself or rather Bingge's imagination. That's why it took him to places that weren't crazy different from a xianxia perspective. This portal on the other hand has no master and it just goes one way, so hypothetically Bingge could end up in the Star Wars universe, if It didn't open me up for the lawsuit of a lifetime" Shang Qinghua finished with a nervous laugh.

She Qingqiu leveled him with a stare so Shang Qinghua continued.

"So, this portal has no master but needs a crazy big powersource to work and the more powerful the being it has to send the more power it needs, which the wizards had not taken into account. Anyways, Bingge is drawn into the portal but they end up in some sort of impasse? Bingge is too strong but the wizards are too many. So the little witch, who knows how the portal works, jumps into it and cuts into her hand and her hair-"

"Hand AND hair?"

"Well, yeah, supposedly the portal identifies people with something alive and something dead so, alive = blood and dead = hair"

"Uh huh"

Shang Qinghua waves his hand dismissively again.

"Yeah well it was a draft and I hadn't actually solved how or why that worked like that… anyways she grabbed her hair with the bloody hand and cut with the other and dropped the bloody strands on the floor, grabbed Bingge and jumped out."

"Why not just jump out?"

"Portal needs to trap at least one person. So if two jump in only one can come out. Once it's active at least one person must remain to be transported. So: bloody hair counts as a person"

Shen Qingqiu looked so done with him, Shang Qinghua was starting to feel a little hurt.

"Yeah, I know it's convoluted, that's why it was a DRAFT. Don't judge me, even I have SOME standards."

"Doubtful."

" _ Ouch _ , Cucumber-bro" he said pressing a hand to his chest in fake hurt.

It was Shen Qingqiu’s turn to wave his hand dismissively.

“So? What does your draft have to do with the present situation? You’re not a witch, and I haven’t heard that Mobei-Jun had left on any outside expeditions recently, and THAT absolutely looks pretty recent” Qingqiu said with a meaningful look towards Shang Qinghua short strands.

“Yeah, happened last week,” he said running his hand through the hairs on his nape. “But this is why I said that the System seems to be adapting my drafts. I’m not sure why they would come after my king, though. He’s not the protagonist!”

“I have my suspicions.”

Shang Qinghua’s head snapped towards his fellow peak lord in attention.

“Finish your story first, what happened last week?”

Shang Qinghua’s brow furrowed.

“Well, he was not drawn out but rather, the wizard came for him,” he began with a frown. “The wizard came to challenge my king, and he had some sort of charmed rope that moved and it twisted itself on the floor to create the portal around him.” Shang Qinghua buried his face in his hands, “GOD, I almost had a heart attack when I recognised the shape of it.”

“So, you jumped in place of the little witch to get him out?”

“Yeah, my king was furious with me...” The muffled voice came from behind the hands still pressed to his face.

“For saving him?”

“Well, he doesn’t really like anyone meddling in his fights, particularly when they challenge his title and position. You know how the demons work...”, came the tired voice

Shen Qingiu was starting to believe that it hadn’t been pride that made Mobei Jun angry at Shang Qinghua’s interference, yet decided to keep quiet for the time being.

“But it was only one wizard? I mean you told me it took many of them to even attempt to send Bingge away, and even though Mobei Jun is not the protagonist his strength is not that far off...”

“Yeah, but it still wouldn’t have worked on Mobei Jun if he had a thousand people anyways, because he doesn’t count as a person either.”

Shen Qingqiu raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“I  _ mean  _ he doesn’t count as ONE person,” he clarified, “because of the nature of the inheritance ceremony, Mobei Jun is one person, but his powers are equivalent to all of the ancestors so the portal actually counts him as lots of very powerful people.”

Shen Qingqiu’s mouth twitched. Was Airplane really that dense…? For someone who had written thousands of chapters and hundreds of plots, it was amazing that he couldn’t make the connection by himself.

“So let me get this straight,” he began, “you were perfectly aware that Mobei Jun was not going to get sucked into that portal and you still decided to go full makeover to save him?”

“Well, it’s not like I thought about it! I came out, saw the scene and before I realized it my hand was bloody and I had lost a whole chunk of hair! What do you want from me?!”

“I want you to use your head” he said, looking straight at Shang Qinghua “How does the witch’s story end?”

Shang Qinghua scratched his head in thought before saying, “Well, she saves Bingge, he kills the wizards, who are drained from powering the portal, and she tells him she will set up her own coven and they go their separate ways,” he finishes.

Shen Qingqiu looks at him. Shang Qinghua blinks innocently.

Of course Shng Qinghua breaks first.

“Okay fine! They papapa and THEN go their separate ways”

Shen Qingqiu raises an eyebrow at him and Shang Qinghua begins to think that it is very unfair for someone to have that much control over his eyebrows.

“...and she promises to have her coven join the harem” he adds in a rush. “Happy now?!”

“Yes” he smiles.

Shen Qingqiu should really have the decency not to look like a cat who just got the milk, it’s really super rude in Shang Qinghua’s opinion.

“So what do I do now? How do I make my king AND the system go back to normal?”

“Well, how did YOUR story end?”

“Excuse me?”

Shen Qingqiu sighed,“Well, after rescuing Bingge, the witch sleeps with him and promises to bring more sisters before leaving; What happened with you two after you got Mobei Jun?”

Shang Qinghua’s brows furrow slightly, ”Well… After jumping out of the portal with him, my king kicked me aside, ripped the head of the weakened wizard and then proceeded to direct his most scalding glare at me before turning around and leaving me there,” he concluded. 

The hint of sadness in his tone was not missed by Shen Qingqiu, whose gaze softened before he replied, “Okay so, it seems to me that the system may be adapting your drafts in order for them to fit in the new genre of the story.”

“What? What new genre?!”

Oh yeah, Shen Qingqiu might have forgotten to tell him about that.

With a slight cough, ShenQingqiu opened a fan to cover the lower half of his face elegantly before closing his eyes and proceeding, “Ah yes, that. Well you see, When we defeated Luo Binghe’s dad that last time I actually died. At that point, the system kinda rolled credits on me before offering to send me back and on the credits it said that the genre had changed from a stallion novel into a… well into a danmei” he finished with another cof.

He opened one eye slightly to gauge Shang Qinghua’s reaction only to behold his absolute stupefied face.

“...I’m sorry, WHAT? You changed the whole ass genre of my novel and you didn’t think it was relevant to tell the AUTHOR?! The hell?!”

“Well, I’m sorry, but I was  _ also _ under the impression that the story was over so no; I did not think it was relevant for ANYONE to know, since I didn’t think anything else was going to come out of it! Now that you’re telling me  _ this _ , the situation has changed and that’s why I’m telling you.” He had to admit that he felt a little guilty about it now, but could Shang Qinghua really blame him? It’s not like he did it on purpose either! 

Shang Qinghua had his head lowered and his hands buried in the short strands, muttering to himself something that sounded like ‘why a danmei, a fucking danmei, oh my god a danmei’. 

Shen Qingqiu sighed and poured more tea for the both of them.

“Anyways” He continued, “Now that you know the genre you can’t still be blind to what the system is doing, can you?”

Shang Qinghua raised his head and looked straight at Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu raised an eyebrow at him.

“...Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?”

“I mean, it is hardly a suggestion, the system is not very subtle, is it?”

Shang Qinghua looked at him in silence before saying, “I hate you”

Shen Qingqiu looked expectantly at him, waiting for him to finish.

“...but yeah, I think you’re right,” he concluded with a slump of his shoulders.

Shen Qingqiu nodded slightly before softly adding, “I am sorry I didn’t tell you before, about the genre change. Are you... very angry with me?” peeking from behind his fan, Shang Qinghua thought he looked like a chided child.

Shang Qinghua let out a long sigh before reassuring him “Nah, not really. I mean, I kinda figured it didn’t really count as a stallion novel anymore, it was just shocking hearing it out loud I guess. But it’s not really on you.” 

He sounded resigned, but not upset. Shen Qingqiu counted that as a win.

“Okay so, what now? How will you proceed?” he asked as he closed his fan.

“I-... I don’t actually know”

Shen Qingqiu was surprised at just how lost his friend sounded. “What do you mean you don’t know? I thought the system was fairly plain in its intentions.”

“Well, yeah, I mean, I get what it’s going for-”

“But?”

“But! My king and I aren’t like you and Bingmei! He loved you since he was a disciple, and I’m fairly sure you’d liked him for a while before he even blackened but… my king is not like that! And even if, and it’s such a HUGE if, he could fall in love with someone, it would be a powerful demon, with a long pureblood line, who could give him heirs for the throne of the northern desert. NOT a lowly human, half-baked cultivator, lord of the lamest peak in Cang Qiong Sect!”

Shen Qingqiu flinched at that last bit. He knew that the author had never had a very high self esteem but he had not been aware that it had gotten this bad. 

“Well” He interjects “How would you know? Have you asked him?”

“Is it really something that even needs to be asked Cucumber-bro? Be serious here.”

“Yes it is! Mobei Jun is THE most inexpressive being in your whole interminable novel and even so, he still has made plenty of accommodations to fit your needs and wants, and isn’t that the biggest show of affection?”

“I am a useful servant! I won’t be as useful if I lose half my fingers from frostbite!”

“You said he stopped beating you. You said he constantly looks at you. YOU said he made you noodles because you ASKED!”

“He was feeling guilty for-”

“IS Mobei Jun the type of demon who does anything out of GUILT?” Shen Qingqiu exclaimed as he banged his hand on the table “Who exactly is not being serious here?”

Shang Qinghua flinched at the noise and stared silently at his friend. Shen Qingqiu… wasn’t really wrong, but… 

“Shizun! Is everything okay? I heard a loud noise!” Came Luo Binghe’s voice as he burst through the doors, seemingly ready to fight the table if it had so much as left a splinter on his immortal Shizun’s fingers.

“Everything is okay, Binghe. This master just got… a little agitated” Shen Qingqiu said as he forced his shoulders to relax. He opened his fan again and pierced Shang Qinghua with his gaze as he added “Your Shishu has a talk pending with Mobei Jun, would you be so kind to bring the things I had you prepare for him before? He must be on his way soon.”

_ Damn you, Cucumber-bro. _

“Of course! Right away Shizun! Please have a safe trip Shishu!” Said Luo Binghe, excited that the nuisance was finally leaving him and his Shizun alone.

_ Damn you, you unfilial son! _

“Yeah...yeah I have… a long trip ahead,” he sighed. 

He had a lot of thinking to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MoBei Jun's take on the matter at hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly am EXTREMELY impatient and there are very few works that I can wait for updates, and those are the ones that absolutely STUN ME. Personally I don't believe I am at a lever where I can stun anyone yet lol so! Here's the whole thing!

Mobei Jun was not used to this.

Since he was a child he had always been taught that feelings were a nuisance. Even anger, as useful as it could be as a motivator, would ultimately muddle one’s judgement and lead to their defeat. So, emotions should be reduced to a minimum, in order to stay at the top and become an effective ruler. And yet-

And yet.

_ And yet. _

This human. This tiny wonderous human was so  _ full  _ of these emotions and he always seemed to feel them so  _ strongly _ . There was nothing he could have done. Mobei Jun was absolutely captivated, fascinated by him and all the different expressions that went through his tiny body. There were so many and they went by so  _ fast _ , that he could barely keep up with them.

Watching Shang Qinghua was always interesting, since the man seemed to be completely unaware of what his face did while he was working. Mobei Jun could guess the contents of a particular scroll just by watching him read it.

How his eyebrows would scrunge in confusion was different from when they burrowed in concern, or when they gathered in anger. When his eyes would widen in surprise or twinkle with mirth. When his mouth would mutter the words to decipher their meaning or open in shock at whatever was written on them.

How his hands would move and twist as if weaving an invisible pattern in the air, how his feet would tap to some unheard music.

How his lips would be brought out in displeasure or curl in a smile. And such a lovely smile it was.

Shang Qinghua was a creature of emotion and feelings and that made him so vulnerable and so precious in Mobei Jun’s eyes.

The problem was that those emotions seemed to have spilled over onto him, and that was… unsettling.

Mobei Jun was fine admiring the change in the cultivator’s body as the different moods went through him but experiencing them himself was unnerving.

Most of the time he could push them down or set them aside.

That was, until a week ago.

He had to admit he had not paid attention as to the reason why the human had come to challenge him, but it had been a while since any human had come forward with the desire to defeat him.

He agreed to the fight. He could defeat the man without killing him. That would show his control and display his prowess, and maybe, just  _ maybe _ , it would make Shang Qinghua smile at him and praise him.

(When had he begun to crave the little human’s gaze on him so much?)

_ Yes _ , he had thought,  _ this will be easy _ .

Turns out,  _ pride  _ could also cloud your judgement. He had been such a fool.

He felt something was wrong almost as soon as he stepped forward to begin his attack. He saw the long golden ribbon twist and turn around his feet and before he could even call the ice to block its path, the thing had completed its job, closing the circle around him.

As soon as the two ends of the ribbon met, the challenger put his hands on the ground and began chanting, making the ribbon glow.

In all his years of life and fights, he had never felt anything like it.

Mobei Jun could see the ground beneath his feet and he could hear the snow crunching under his boots, and yet-

He could feel his stomach dropping. It was such a daunting thing, like the feeling of standing above a huge dark hole with no end. The Endless Abyss was full of horrors but at least it was full. Mobei Jun had the terrifying notion that if he got sucked into this hole, there was no coming back. Ever.

Helplessness gave way to anger, as he threw himself towards the man kneeling and chanting before the ribbon. As he got close to the limits of the circle, he could feel the dropping feeling grow and realised he would not be able to attack from the inside. He tried summoning the ice, but it would not answer his call while he remained inside. He was effectively trapped.

He glared at the man, furious and so ready to destroy him at the first chance he got, like a tiger trapped inside a cage, waiting for its time.

While deciding possible ways to destroy the ribbon, he heard the most chilling sound.

“MY KING!!!”

His head snapped towards the sound in an instant, only to see an expression he never  _ ever _ wanted to see on Shang Qinghua’s face again.

The cultivator had been involved in many dangerous situations, from battling Lord Luo’s father to his own uncle and, even while dealing with Mobei Jun himself, Shang Qinghua had shown fear.

But, even the look of pure panic that Shang Qinghua had had when Mobei Jun fell off the side of Maigu Ridge, could not come close to the raw absolute horror that his face displayed when he saw Mobei Jun inside this circle.

Before Mobei Jun could even open his mouth, he saw Shang Qinghua sprinting towards him at full speed.

“Stay back!!”

That awful helpless feeling came back as he realised that no matter how much he yelled, Shang Qinghua would not listen to him; and he was not stopping.

Time seemed to move slowly. He could only watch as the tiny vulnerable human got closer and closer to the wretched trap. As Shang Qinghua pulled his sword out of the sheath, as if ready to fight the intruder who caught him.

However, in an unexpected move, instead of going for the intruder, he stepped inside the seal. Mobei Jun walked towards him when Shang Qinghua brought the blade of his sword to his left hand, making a cut on the palm. Then, he used his injured hand to grab his… hair? What was he doing?

Mobei Jun was forced to look him in the eyes as he used his hand to pull on his top knot and his blade to snip it off, cutting just before his green fluttering ribbon. The whole bun was cleanly severed from his head.

He swore that his heart had stopped.

Why? Why would Shang Qinghua do that?!

The human was trembling slightly, still keeping his eyes on Mobei Jun, as he dropped the entire bun on the floor. Mobei Jun’s eyes shifted towards the bloody lump of hair and stepped in its direction, ready to pick it up, when he felt a body slam into his.

He looked down to find Shang Qinghua’s short hair and instinctively wrapped his arms around that frame. He could still feel the pull of the hole, making him tighten his arms around the human.

He would not let Shang Qinghua get sucked in, and if he did, he was determined to get sucked in with him. He would not lose him.

For some reason, the barrier let them both through this time. As soon as they were out, the ribbon’s light got stronger before disappearing completely with everything that was inside it: grass, snow... and Shang Qinghua’s hair.

Mobei Jun was furious.

He grabbed the collar of Shang Qinghua’s robe and threw him behind as he stalked towards the now weakened challenger. Mobei Jun no longer cared about his control or his prowess; he just wanted that man dead. 

He gripped the kneeling mage’s hair on one hand and placed the other hand on his shoulder before ripping the head off the rest of the body.

It was not enough. He covered the severed head and the body in ice before shattering them into ice dust.

His rage did not subside.

He heard a rustling behind him that made him turn ready to tear apart anything else that may come his way.

Shang Qinghua looked pale. He was holding his injured hand in the other, trembling slightly, his hair in disarray, still stained with his blood. His eyes looked at Mobei Jun, unwaveringly.

“...my king?” came the hesitant voice.

Looking at his face made the anger come back. How dare he? How dare Shang Qinghua commit such a dishonorable act?! More so for a fight that did not concern him! 

He felt his fists clench in anticipation, until he saw Shang Qinghua shrink into his shoulders. With one last scalding glare, he turned and left. He would not hit Shang Qinghua. It had taken entirely too long for the human to stop looking so scared of him, to stop flinching every time Mobei Jun moved. He refused to go back to that. 

So he had to search for something else to hit.

(He had also ordered the first servant to cross his path to tend to Shang Qinghua’s wound and to prepare a bath to clean the leftover blood from his hair.)

\----

  
  


By night time, Mobei Jun’s anger had left him, but his confusion remained.

He had been taught, from a young age, that the body of a member of the Mobei clan was not their own. That, just like his father, and his father before him, he would have to cultivate and strengthen his body, only so that his successor may receive it at the time of his death. Few people in his clan had lost limbs or body parts, and those who did brought shame to the clan and were not allowed to be part of the clan’s historical mural inside the palace. Every part of his body was infused with his Qi and had to be passed down, including his hair. His long mane had not even been trimmed since he had been born.

He knew that humans did not share the same rituals as his clan. Hell, he didn’t even know of other demons with similar ceremonies. But he knew that humans believed that their hair was related to their ancestors and the only time he had seen humans with their hair cut short, it had been in punishment.

So why would Shang Qinghua cut it off so easily? Without  _ any _ hesitation?

Could it have been… for him?

Mobei Jun had not missed the fact that the seal had let them out after Shang Qinghua had dropped his hair inside. Had that been the key?

Had Shang Qinghua thrown his ancestor’s gifts away only for the sake of saving Mobei Jun? Only to receive his ungratefulness at the end?

Mobei Jun stilled.  _ Would this be the end of Shang Qinghua’s patience? _

No.

No, no,  _ no _ .

He needed to see him, he needed to make sure that Shang Qinghua had not left him. 

He needed answers.

He found the human in his chamber, sitting in front of a mirror with a small dagger in his hand. Mobei Jun guessed, by the strands on the floor around him, that Shang Qinghua had kept hacking at his hair.

“ _ What _ are you doing?” Why would he cut it even further? Had he no respect for his ancestors? Was… Mobei Jun not that special?

“My king!” Shang Qinghua jumped, before leaving the dagger on the table in front of him and turning, “I was just trying to make it a bit neater, so it’ll grow more level instead of all in different lengths,” he finished as he scratched his nape with his bandaged hand.

He did not seem angry at Mobei Jun, but he was more subdued. Mobei Jun nodded in understanding; Shang Qinghua was mourning a great loss, it made sense for him not to be as cheery as usual. He would not let the human’s actions go unrewarded.

“Do not leave,” he said, before turning around and walking out of the room.

He had plans to take care of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I debated whether I should post everything in one chapter or just post the rest separately and I came to a compromise with myself: I post everything separately for now and maybe later join it all in one chapter) I hope I met your expectations and y'all enjoyed it!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Conclusion // Shen Qingqiu has some thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again all my thanks to my wonderful, awesome and patient beta [ Shakja ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shakja%22%3E)!!! and so, enjoy!!

By the time Shang Qinghua finally arrived at the northern palace, it was well into the night. Even for a less talented cultivator like himself, flying by sword really cut down on travel time.

Once at his chamber, he hadn’t even had time to remove his boots before Mobei Jun came bursting in, glaring at Shang Qinghua with anger and… hurt? 

Had Cucumber-bro been… right?

“I told you not to leave.”

Oh… Yeah, he had.

“I’m sorry, my king. I had planned to visit An Ding Peak some time ago and my stay was only delayed by a few hours because I had something to discuss with… Lord Luo’s consort.”  _ Ha! That’ll teach Cucumber-bro (to be right about him). _ “I did not think this was included in that statement.”

Mobei Jun looked somewhat placated but his eyes had drifted once again towards Shang Qinghua’s hair.

“Is it… very strange?” He asked, running his hands through the short strands at his nape. He could probably get a wig or extensions, right? That was totally a thing in ancient xianxia novels, right? “I can cover it up until it grows or see if there’s a way to make it grow faster...”

Mobei Jun’s brows furrowed “Are you ashamed of it? Do you… regret it?”

“NO!” Shang Qinghua’s answer came bursting out of him so much so that he even startled himself. “I- It just seemed like it bothered you, my king.”

Mobei Jun’s gaze softened. He looked Shang Qinghua in the eye as he stepped towards him.

“Humans believe”, he began, walking slowly, “that their hair is something given to them by their ancestors” He stopped just before Shang Qinghua.”

The cultivator looked up, to keep eye contact. It wasn’t a question, so he chose to remain quiet.

“And yet” he continued, “you, without hesitation, threw it away-”

“I didn’t.” Shang Qinghua flinched at Mobei Jun’s darkening expression, looking down. His king really hated being interrupted, but Shang Qinghua would hate it more for that lie to stand. “I didn’t ‘throw it away’. That would mean that I did it on a whim- that it had no meaning.” He steeled himself before looking straight at Mobei Jun’s eyes. “I did have a reason, and even if it makes my king angry that I meddled in his fight, I cannot bring myself to regret it.”  _ Even if you would have been fine, probably… _

Mobei Jun stared at his face intently, unblinking. His gaze softened once again as he raised his hands to cup Shang Qinghua’s cheeks sweetly, as if he was something precious and delicate, not a peak lord belonging to one of the strongest sects in the human realm.

“You gave away your ancestor’s gifts willingly, to save this lord’s life. This lord now wishes to give his ancestors to you. Marry me, Shang Qinghua.”

“Oh ye- I’m sorry, what?” Shang Qinghua’s eyes snapped open as he registered what his king had just said. “You want to marry me? Out of.. A sense of debt?”

“No! Your actions will be rewarded but it is not out of a feeling of debt that I wish to marry you.”

“Then, what is it that you’re feeling?”

“I-” Mobei Jun hesitated and suddenly Shang Qinghua remembered.  _ Oh, yeah… I’ve written this too. _

There had also been a draft, way back, where the leader of a she-wolf tribe in the east had given information to the protagonist to defeat a common enemy. Bingge being Bingge had proposed to her after the enemy tribe had been defeated.

  
“I wish you to become my bride,” he had said.

“I will not marry you to settle a debt, my lord,” she had replied.

“Of course not!” laughed Bingge, “You and your tribe will be rewarded for your services separately. But it would be foolish of me to deny that you are a worthy wife to have by my side,” he finished as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

Even with such a cringey line, of course, she would have agreed and become part of the harem as wife #346, but Shang Qinghua had left the draft alone after he had been unable to clearly determine how the conflict with the enemy tribe would go.

Regardless of all of that, it really seemed like Shen Qingqiu had been right. The system was setting up his drafts but with him and Mobei Jun, which was terrible because 1)  _ he wasn’t a sister! _ and 2) Mobei Jun was most definitely NOT Bingge, and his king’s face was too thin to say all those romantic lines that the OG could spew left and right with barely a thought.

“I- I wish to spend the rest of my life… with you,” Mobei Jun finished softly, his eyes, foronce, averted to the floor as the tip of his ears coloured and his brows furrowed once again.

He sighed. What was he to do? Shang Qinghua had become absolutely captivated by this cold and reserved demon.

“That’s not an answer,” He replied. As his king opened his mouth to reply, he added “But I will let it go this time. However, I am a little dumb, my king, so please tell this humble servant how you feel soon? Otherwise he might not believe that you feel the same way.”

Mobei Jun’s eyes widened in an unusual display of emotion as he mouthed ‘the same way’ before looking at Shang Qinghua with a gaze that should have dispelled all doubts about his king's feelings. 

(but as he had said, he was a little dumb)

Mobei Jun’s hands, still cupping his face gently, brought him slightly up as he leaned down to press his lips softly on the corner of Shang Qinghua’s mouth.

He then quickly retreated from the room, saying something about preparations before leaving a completely red and flustered Shang Qinghua behind.

_ How come his king was such a tease?! _

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

This was not the first time Shen Qingqiu had been invited to the northern palace along with Binghe, but it was the first time they had visited this particular room.

Mobei Jun had received them at the entrance with his fiance (He swears he had tried to tone down the smug look on his face as Mobei Jun introduced his friend as such, but judging by Shang Qinghua’s scalding glare and furious blush, it didn’t seem like he had succeeded) as is tradition, before claiming he had something he wanted to show them and turned in the direction of the room in question.

Looking around, he remembered Airplane mentioning in one chapter that the Mobei clan had a room with murals depicting the heroic battles and tales of their members, particularly of their leaders. He had to admit that, given how little detail and importance the stupid author had given in th the book, he had not expected the murals to be so beautiful and detailed.

Mobei Jun stopped a few feet ahead of them before turning around with his chin lifted and his chest slightly puffed out, as if slightly proud but trying to hide it.

“The new mural of this generation” he said. He turned to look at his right, and Shen Qingqiu had never seen the ice demon look at something with such adoration.

Shen Qingqiu turned to his friend to ask but was struck by how Shang Qinghua’s eyes had widened and his face had gone from normal to pale to completely flushed in less than a minute. With brows furrowed, he turned towards the mural before doing a double take because-  _ Um, what? _

This mural, like the rest, was huge. Shen Qingqiu noted that, even with his hair crown included, he barely reached the knee of the person depicted.

Speaking of the person depicted, that was Shang Qinghua.

The mural showed Shang Qinghua standing before a kneeling man with a sword in one hand and a bundle tied with a fluttering ribbon in the other, short hair swaying softly, and behind him Mobei Jun in all his regal glory.

“M- My king? What is this?!” 

Shen Qingqiu could not blame his friend for the slight shriek in his voice. 

Mobei Jun looked blankly at his fiance before answering, “Our mural”

“Yes- yes, I can see the mural but why am I in it? It’s supposed to be for the heroic tales of the members of the Mobei clan!”

Mobei Jun’s brows furrowed impatiently, “You are my fiance, and soon will be my consort. You are a part of the Mobei clan now. Your courageous tale will join those of our ancestors.” No argument against it would be accepted. “The title of this mural is ‘The Sacrifice of the Consort’,” he finished with a satisfied nod of the head.

Shen Qingqiu pressed his lips to avoid laughing at the look on his friend’s face. He was starting to believe that flush was going to become a permanent colour on Shang Qinghua. Underneath that fierce pink, however, Shang Qinghua looked happy, and that’s really all that he could care about.

He turned to his husband to comment on their friend’s romantic moment when he caught the excited glint on Luo Binghe’s eye as he turned from the mural towards his Shizun. 

“Shizun-”

“Don’t even think about it, Luo Binghe!”

His husband did not look nearly as chastised as Shen Qingqiu had hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! ...for now huehuehue (I have some little extras brewing, that may or may not be added... at some point)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! And no promises on WHEN I might be able to release chapter 2 but I'll try to do it soon! (Let me know if there's anything else I needed to tag and forgot lol)


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